Imagine this: you’re a network executive and two Hollywood hangers-on come to you with an idea for a television comedy. It will be set in a POW camp in Nazi Germany at the height of World War II. You’d think they were crazy, right? Well, that’s exactly what Bernard Fine and Albert Ruddy did in 1964 when they pitched the idea for “Hogan’s Heroes” to CBS.

The two veteran but largely unknown actor/producer-types reportedly came up with the idea over lunch one day. And despite understandable misgivings from network executives about the humor in such a setting, they green-lit the project anyway. Actors, writers, directors and producers were hired, the pilot was shot, and "Hogan's Heroes" was off and running. And to everyone’s surprise, it was a hit!

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